Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Air India crash: 135 victims identified, 101 bodies handed over to families

According to authorities, DNA tests are being conducted to confirm the identities of victims as several bodies were charred or severely damaged.

Air India crash victims

People carry the coffin containing the body of Akash Patni, who died after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed during take-off from an airport, in Ahmedabad, June 17, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

FIVE days after the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 270 people, officials on Tuesday said that 135 victims have been identified through DNA testing, and 101 bodies have been handed over to their families.

According to authorities, DNA tests are being conducted to confirm the identities of victims as several bodies were charred or severely damaged.


“Till Tuesday morning, 135 DNA samples have been matched, and 101 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. Of these 101 deceased, five were not on board the flight,” Ahmedabad Civil Hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi said.

He added that the 101 deceased belonged to different parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and Diu. Joshi earlier said he hoped DNA profiling of all victims would be completed by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, PTI reported.

ALSO READ: Air India crash: Victim funerals begin as probe into cause continues

The crash occurred on June 12, shortly after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm. The plane, which was bound for London, crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad.

There were 242 people on board the flight. Of them, 241 died and one person survived. The crash also killed 29 people on the ground, including five MBBS students.

 

Air India chairman addresses staff after crash

Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran on Monday addressed employees in a town hall at the airline’s headquarters near New Delhi. The meeting, attended by 700 staff, came days after what is being described as one of the deadliest air disasters in a decade.

“I’ve seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one,” he said, a Tata Group spokesperson told Reuters.

“We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,” Chandrasekaran told the staff.

The Tata Group owns Air India, and Chandrasekaran is also the chairman of the conglomerate.

ALSO READ: Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

 

Investigation and safety review underway

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost altitude shortly after takeoff and crashed into buildings, resulting in a large fire. Only one passenger survived, and around 30 people on the ground also died. The flight was heading to Gatwick Airport near London.

The Indian government and Air India are reviewing the crash, focusing on several technical aspects, including engine thrust, the position of the flaps, and why the landing gear remained open.

“We need to wait for the investigation … It’s a complex machine, so a lot of redundancies, checks and balances, certifications, which have been perfected over years and years. Yet this happens, so we will figure out why it happens after the investigation,” Chandrasekaran, 62, said.

Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have been recovered, and authorities said these will be critical for the ongoing probe.

 

Impact on airline and Boeing

The crash has come at a time when Air India is trying to modernise its fleet after years of losses and operational issues during government ownership. Since acquiring the airline in 2022, the Tata Group has announced plans to develop it into a "world-class airline".

The crash also adds pressure on Boeing, which has been facing safety and production concerns in recent years.

On Monday, a separate Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft heading from Hong Kong to New Delhi returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a technical issue.

Chandrasekaran said, “It’s not easy to face criticisms. We are going to get through this. We need to show resilience.”

 

Ongoing efforts in Ahmedabad

Meanwhile, in Ahmedabad, many families continue to wait to collect the bodies of their relatives. Medical teams are working on identifying victims using dental samples and other methods.
Only 99 DNA matches had been confirmed by Sunday evening, and 64 bodies had been handed over at that point, Dr Joshi said.

Authorities are continuing the identification process as part of the larger effort to assist grieving families and determine the cause of the crash.

More For You

Comment: Why Old Trafford Test is missed chance to talk trade

Keir Starmer (left) and Narendra Modi will sign the UK-India trade deal during the latter's two-day visit to UK

Comment: Why Old Trafford Test is missed chance to talk trade

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has been more sure-footed on the world stage than at home in his first year in office, but is sensitive to the wrong-headed charge that he spends too much time abroad.

So, this will be a week when world leaders come to him, with fleeting visits from both Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump, touring his golf courses in Scotland before his formal state visit in September. The main purpose of Modi’s two-day stopover is to sign the India-UK trade deal, agreed in May, but overshadowed then by the escalation of conflict between India and Pakistan.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi
Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Modi begins UK visit; to sign free trade deal on July 24


 

Highlights:

 
     
  • India and UK to sign free trade agreement in London on July 24
  •  
  • Tariff cuts on whisky, cars and textiles part of the deal
  •  
  • Trade deal aims to double bilateral trade to £89 billion by 2030
  •  
  • Social security pact finalised; investment treaty talks ongoing
  •  
 

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi embarked on a four-day visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives on Wednesday, July 23. The visit to the UK is at the invitation of prime minister Keir Starmer, while the state visit to the Maldives is at the invitation of president Mohamed Muizzu, the India's Ministry of External Affairs said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Air India says Boeing 787, 737 fuel switch inspections show no problems

AIR INDIA said on Tuesday that it had completed precautionary inspections of the fuel control switch locking mechanism on all its Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft, and no issues were found.

The inspections come amid an investigation into the Air India crash that resulted in the deaths of 241 people on board and 19 on the ground. The probe is focused on the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 jetliner. A final report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected within a year of the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dhaka crash

People crowd a street as firefighting trucks remain on standby outside a school where an Air Force training jet crashed in Dhaka on July 21, 2025.

Getty

Bangladesh mourns as toll from jet crash at school hits 27

Highlights

 
     
  • Jet crash at school in Bangladesh kills 27, including 25 children
  •  
  • Classes cancelled at Milestone School and College following tragedy
  •  
  • National day of mourning declared by interim leader Muhammad Yunus
  •  
  • Military investigating mechanical failure in fighter jet
  •  
 

FAMILIES and teachers gathered at Milestone School and College in Bangladesh on Tuesday, a day after a training fighter jet crashed into the campus, killing 27 people, including 25 children, in the country's deadliest aviation incident in decades.

Keep ReadingShow less
Migrants boat
Migrants swim to board a smugglers' boat in order to attempt crossing the English channel off the beach of Audresselles, northern France on October 25, 2024.
Getty Images

New sanctions to hit people smugglers and their enablers

THE UK government on Monday launched a new sanctions regime targeting people-smuggling gangs and their enablers, which it described as the first of its kind globally.

Under the new regime, the UK will be able to freeze assets, impose travel bans, and block access to the country’s financial system for individuals and organisations involved in facilitating irregular migration. These actions can be taken without the need to rely on criminal or counterterrorism legislation.

Keep ReadingShow less